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Home / IAS Preparation / UPSC General Studies Books - Get List Of UPSC Mains GS Books

UPSC General Studies Books - Get List Of UPSC Mains GS Books

Last Updated on Jun 24, 2024
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UPSC General Studies Books are extremely essential for the aspirants preparing for the IAS examination. These GS books for UPSC form one of the most important aspects of the preparation strategy. The candidates should have the best general studies books for the UPSC IAS Exam to ensure that they are able to cover all the important topics in the GS syllabus. Candidates do have the option of buying these books from a nearby store or alternatively downloading the general studies books PDF. In this article, you will get a list of GS Books to refer to for the UPSC GS Preparation.

Download General Studies Books for UPSC in PDF here

Meanwhile, candidates can also start the IAS exam preparation by referring to UPSC NCERT Books here!

UPSC General Studies Books | GS Books For IAS

There are many ways in which candidates can get information regarding the UPSC general studies books. The candidates have the option of buying the GS books, downloading PDF files, or visiting a nearby library. Given below is the list of the best general studies books for UPSC, prepared by our UPSC CSE Coaching experts, that the candidates can refer to:

Sr. No. Subject Booklist 
1. World History
  • The Story of Civilization, Part 2 by Arjun Dev, NCERT
  • Contemporary World History, Old NCERT Book
  • Mastering Modern World History, Norman Lowe
  • Facets of Indian Culture, Spectrum Books
2. Geography
  • Certificate Physical & Human Geography (Oxford) by Goh Cheng Leong
  • NCERTs (New Editions)
  • XI Standard: (1) India – Physical Environment (2) Fundamentals of Physical Geography
  • Oxford World Atlas, Oxford University Press
3. Social Issues
  • XI Standard NCERT on Indian Society
  • XII Standard NCERT (Chapters on Communalism, Secularism and Urban Issues such as Poverty, Housing, etc.)
4. Indian Polity
  • Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) NCERT Publication
  • Indian Polity for Civil Services by M. Laxmikanth
5. Governance Issues
  • From Government to Governance by Kuldeep Mathur
  • Ethics in Governance, ARC Report
  • Citizen Centric Administration
6. Developmental Issues
  • Human Development Report & World Development Report
  • Panchayati Raj in India by Kuldeep Mathur
7. Economy
  • Indian Economy, Ramesh Singh
  • Recent Economic Survey
  • India People and Economy, NCERT
  • The Indian Economy, Sanjiv Verma

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Need for General Studies Books for UPSC Exam

The UPSC Exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission to recruit suitable candidates for top government services like IAS, IPS, IFS, etc. There are three stages involved in the UPSC Exam i.e., Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and the Interview.

To improve the chances of qualifying in the selection process, it is important for the candidate to have the best general studies books for UPSC mains and prelims.

How to Prepare for UPSC General Studies?

Having a well-rounded preparation strategy is the key to qualifying for this competitive exam. Here are some of the most important preparation tips for the UPSC General Studies Exam to help the candidates with their preparations: –

Understand the Exam Pattern Well 

To purchase the best general studies books for UPSC, it is important for the candidates to understand the exam pattern very well as it will help them in understanding which topic is given more importance.

The candidates can then refer to the exam pattern and then pick the best books for UPSC mains general studies. The candidates should make sure that they should know all the details about the UPSC Exam Pattern so that they can prepare for the examination accordingly. Given below is the exam pattern that the candidates can refer to in order to prepare for the examination:

Phase-I (Preliminary Examination)

Sr. No Particulars No. of Questions Marks Duration
1 Paper I: General Studies 100 200 2 Hours
2 Paper II: GS (CSAT) 80 200 2 Hours

Phase-II (Main Examination)
Paper Particulars Nature Marks Duration
A Any Indian Language (objective) Qualifying 300 3 Hours
B English (objective) 300 3 Hours
1 Essay Merit Ranking 250 3 Hours
2 General Studies I 250 3 Hours
3 General Studies II 250 3 Hours
4 General Studies III 250 3 Hours
5 General Studies IV 250 3 Hours
6 Optional Paper I 250 3 Hours
7 Optional Paper-II 250 3 Hours
Total 1750

Analyze and Understand UPSC General Studies Syllabus 

While purchasing the best books for UPSC mains general studies and general studies book for UPSC prelims, the candidates should first analyze the syllabus so that it will help them in buying the books which will help them in covering all the topics that are mentioned in the syllabus. Given below is the syllabus of the General Studies that you can refer to before purchasing the books for the examination: –

Subject  Topics 
General Studies (Paper I)
  • Current events of national and international importance
  • History of India and Indian National Movement
  • Indian and World Geography
  • Indian Polity and Governance
  • Economic and Social Development
  • General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change (Covers only general awareness of the issues, no subject specialization required)
  • General Science
General Studies (Paper II)
  • Comprehension
  • Interpersonal skills including communication skills
  • Logical reasoning and analytical ability
  • Decision making and problem-solving
  • General mental ability
  • Basic numeracy (Class X level)
    • Numbers and their relations,
    • Orders of magnitude, etc.
    • Data interpretation (Class X level)
General Studies (Mains Paper II)
  • Indian Heritage
  • Indian Culture,
  • History of the World and Society
  • Geography of the World and Society.
General Studies II (Mains Paper III)
  • Governance
  • Constitution
  • Polity
  • Social Justice
  • International relations
General Studies III (Mains Paper IV)
  • Technology
  • Economic Development
  • Biodiversity
  • Environment
  • Security and Disaster Management
General Studies IV (Mains Paper V)
  • Ethics
  • Integrity
  • Aptitude

There are many options that are available on the internet that will enable the candidates to buy the best books for UPSC mains general studies and general studies books for UPSC prelims. The books will enable the candidates in increasing their chances of scoring the required marks and getting qualified for the post.

UPSC General Studies Mock Tests

Candidates should attempt mock tests on a regular basis to ascertain their preparedness for the exam. The UPSC mock tests must be conducted in a similar manner which resembles the environment during the exam. This will allow the candidates to get the hang of the types of questions asked in the exam and hone their time management skills for the actual exam.

Sign up for UPSC Test Series Here!

UPSC General Studies Cut Off

After attempting the mock tests, candidates must compare their scores with the previous year UPSC cut off. This way the candidates will be able to determine their level of preparedness for the exam and undertake any steps necessary to improve their performance in the exam.

In order to improve your preparedness for the UPSC Exam 2021, you must refer to the best online learning resources. Download the Testbook App now and access the best learning material curated by experts.

More Articles for IAS Preparation

UPSC GS Books: FAQs

The best books that you can refer to in order to study for the Economics subject are Indian Economy, Ramesh Singh, Recent Economic Survey, India People and Economy, NCERT and The Indian Economy, Sanjiv Verma.

The ways in which you can get information about the General Studies Books for UPSC is by referring to different websites, visiting the libraries, asking your seniors, and checking the different websites for the details regarding the books.

There are a total of three stages that are involved in the selection process i.e., Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and the last step is the Interview round. The candidates should make sure that they qualify all the three rounds to get qualified for the post in UPSC.

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